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| That Cable Lock Looks Pretty Vulnerable! |
Look at the top picture. Looks like that bike's secured by an easily broken cable lock.
Now look at the picture below. A mini U with a cable secures the frame very well and the front wheel enough that a thief probably wouldn't go back to the car to get the cable cutters.
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A Lightweight Mini U Lock Provides the REAL Security. The Cable Provides Some Front Wheel Security
While the Main Lock Does NOT Secure the Frame, a Thief Would Have to Either Break the U Lock or Saw the Rear Wheel Off |
For reference, take a look at
John Romeo Alpha's excellent video showing just how easily a cable lock is broken. For reference, I had the cable lock along so I figured it'd be of more use where shown than securely stuck inside my bag while I was at a work "offsite." One of my former bosses came by while I was adding the combo cable lock and noted it'd be easy to cut. He allowed as how the U lock might require more equipment and I just might be able to break into his new Corvette before he could nab my wife's 40 year-old bike.
Those Cables Cut Pretty Easily, Eh?
7 comments:
I use a U-Lock and a cable lock when I have to leave my bike out. I think it makes good sense to do that. BTW, thanks for JRA's video, I must have missed it somehow.
Peace :)
Steve, that's security in depth! The two types of locks require different tools approach should slow them down. In every bike rack I've looked at in the last six months, there has always been much easier pickens that this old bike.
[pathic]
Of course, if the thief were to go after the easiest bike around, this old bike would be the target, so one should never count on poor security by others.
You could have looped the little cable lock through the seat, so that it was actually doing something...
I actually almost never lock my rear wheel, just front and frame If they want to have a whack at removing the chaincase, brake and shifter linkages and the rear wheel, they'll probably still be working on it by the time I come back to the bike.
I always think of locking up next to a poorly secured bike as "insurance" As in the old story, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you"
That's a lovely bike BTW-What kind of front light is that?
Cycler - I wish I'd thought of securing the seat, though the bike probably needed no security at all at the Hurst Convention Center where half the attendees know whose bike it was. The light? Why that is the mighty P7; brighter than any bike light not at least double the price and brighter than most automotive high beams.
I forget who said, "The best lock is the human eye." The next-best is what Steve had: People who knew that it was his bike. After that is a U-lock, which should be looped around at least one of the frame tubes.
Justine, read Sheldon Brown's Lock Strategy page and I will think you'll agree that my mini u did not need to go through the frame when locked as shown. Few thieves would want to hacksaw through the rear wheel. I do lock through both the wheel and frame at work where I leave a big, heavy u and cable.
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No Need for Non-Robot proof here!